Olympic Peninsula by Adventure Bike
Join us for this 7 day Adventure Bike Tour around the Pacific Northwest
This ride includes the Olympic National Park, the Hoh Rain Forest, Mount Rainier National Park, Mount Saint Helens, the Pacific Coastal Ocean and Mount Baker National Forest and a lot more.
Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park
Pictures from Roberto's Last Olympic Peninsula Adventure
This is a scenic style adventure ride that includes mostly paved routes with some optional dirt roads. Riders will carry their own gear and will spend each evening in a different lodge as they progress around the state.
This is the best time of the year to see the western part of Washington State.
Day 1 Seatac Airport to Mount Rainier to Packwood
Mount Rainier National Park
Day 2 Packwood to Mount Saint Helens to Long Beach
Mount Saint Helens
International Kite Festival in Long Beach
Day 3 Long Beach to Quinault and the Rainforest
Elk in the rainforest
Day 4 Quinault to Hoh Rainforest, then Forks
Elk Sleeping near Forks
Driftwood at La Push, Washington
Day 5 Forks, Neah Bay, Cape Flattery and Hurricane Ridge to Port Angeles
Hurricane Ridge
Cape Flattery near Neah Bay
Day 6 Port Angeles to Whidbey Island to Deception Pass to Anacortes to Concrete, WA
Deception Pass Bridge
Mount Baker from Ovenell’s Heritage Inn
Day 7 Concrete back to Seatac Airport
Barlow Pass, Snohomish County
For riders that would like to study the full detail of the ride, you can see the entire route and choices in incredible detail in the active map near the bottom of this webpage. For those that would like to read the logistic details you can also read the daily ride details in the embedded section below. Enjoy!
Ride Details
I know many of you also enjoy dreaming about the ride and making plans, so here is the detail
Self Guided Adventure: The Olympic Peninsula by Adventure Bike ride is designed to be a self-guided adventure. As GPS units have become both more powerful and easier to use, it has enabled anyone to be able to easily find their way along the trail. For many, this allows them to just experience the trail without the burden of getting lost.
Buy the GPS Card and Rider Maps:
You can order a microSD Card for your Garmin GPS and a complete set of big picture overview maps as well as tank bag reference maps designed in combination with the microSD card to fit the pocket in your "Tank Bag" See the choices below:
Rider Choice (Scroll Down Menu)
Free Shipping to Lower 48 States
Checkout View Cart
Notes: I suggest you plan and order early. Normally I ship within a week. But sometimes I run out and it can take me several weeks to get new cards and maps. And sometimes I am out riding and building new adventures so that can be hard too. I list the Option for 2 SD cards because many riders like to carry a backup card or a cheap backup GPS in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
View the ride maps
OK since many of you like to study more detail about the ride, below are the ride maps.
I put these ride maps on the web page because I know a few of you love looking at the ride detail and dreaming about the ride. At first glance these maps do not look so impressive, but they are way cool. If you start zooming in, you can see the ride in incredible detail. I have spent a ton of hours sorting through the details of the ride for each day, so for those of you that enjoy this sort of thing, well enjoy!
Legend:
The Blue lines are MAIN routes
The Red lines are Harder routes
The Green lines are Easy options
The Black lines are the out and back viewpoints
How does the ride navigation work?
This is a self-led GPS ride; all riding is on your own. You are responsible for your own riding. You will be given a GPS map file and instructions on how to use your Garmin GPS unit. People will hook up in small groups of less than 6 riders and tend to ride together. You are not encouraged to ride alone. You are responsible for your own riding and yourself.
(see my ride Navigation Video)
Are you right for this ride?
When something goes wrong on a ride, would your riding friends say that you are more likely to need help or more likely to give help? You should be in the more likely to offer help camp. This ride is filled with riders that are more likely to give help, so most of the time the riders never need help. Additionally there is all the normal stuff, come prepared to maintain your bike, fix your bike on the trail, repair flat tires, deal with bad weather and rain and make a joke or two.
How do I make the GPS stuff so easy?
I develop very high quality ride maps custom for our ride, they come from much of what I and others have ridden. I take the best from all my rides and make new ones.
(See my Custom Ride Maps Video)
Note from me, gpsKevin
My goal for this ride is simple: great riding. So you can count on great routes and places to ride.
But in addition, the ride is about discovering new places, meeting new friends, seeing new parts of the world.
Thanks
gpsKevin
FAQ's
Q:What will the weather be like this time of year?
A: In August, the weather is most often nice. That is why I go this time of the year. It could be a little cold in the morning and in the mountains. Sometimes there can be rain. Come prepared with extra gear for cold and wet. Also inland it can sometimes be hot. Come prepared, bring extra gear.
Q: Would this be a good ride for newer riders?
A: Yes, this ride is an easier scenic ride good for less experienced riders. The riding has easy route choices and tough route options. Each evening we will study the following day's choices. You will find lots of supportive people at the ride.
Q: If I truck my bike to the ride is there a place to leave my truck for the week during the ride?
A: Yes, I will be leaving my van at the Seatac long term parking during the 7 days. It is cheap and near the start.
Q: What are Motel room arrangements?
A: Rooms are double occupancy, meaning each rider shares a two queen bed room with another rider.
Q: What bikes are right for this ride?
A: Target bike for this ride was my Yamaha Super Tenere. Bikes including and in between the Suzuki V-Strom, the BMW 1200GS and the KTM990 all can do well by choosing the easy or hard route options.
Q: Will I do this ride again next year?
A: No, sorry I hardly ever repeat rides as I love to develop and discover new places and rides each season. And I have a long dream list of rides now. So this is likely the only time for this ride. Remember: every time we say no to a ride that is one less ride in life
Q; What do I do if I don't have a Garmin GPS?
A: Buy one, you need it, we will show you how to use it. You can get a great one for under $200 bucks. ( See gpsKevin's gps recommendations)
Q: Do I need insurance?
A: Yes, you must carry proof of medical insurance and liability insurance for yourself/motorcycle.
Q: Is there a Support Truck following the ride?
A: No, the ride is unsupported. Riders need to come with a newer bike in good condition and well tuned up with new tires and plenty of tools to effect their own repairs along the trail. Riders need to ride conservatively with plenty of margin as to not hurt themselves.
Q: Is the riding really on my own?
A: Yes, but everyone hooks up and rides with a friend, or a new friend or me.